Tagged / conference

The Team Collaboration winners from the 2017 VC Staff Awards recently saw their prize legacy through with a development day. As part of the award, a staff development activity was offered to support the team on building on its success of hosting the British Conference for Undergraduate Research in April 2017 at BU. After much weighing out amongst the group into the options for activities and related calendar alignment (!), a development day was hosted at AFC Bournemouth. Much of the original team were able to take part however given the competing priorities of academic life, not everyone could make it! The programme for the day included guided tutorials from learning technologist John Moran with comprehensive input in providing the team with support of team teaching tools such as eg mentimeter, cahoot and padlet. In the afternoon, senior academic from CEL Curie Scott facilitated sessions. This included workshops on origami and collage, etc as a powerful way within pedagogy to articulate, reflect and critique within education practice.

It was timely to use Curie’s session and the methods within to think about future planning. Discussions then centred around sustaining work practices by connecting them, where possible, to our values. Curie explains ‘We used origami to consider responses to working creatively in education practice: that creative making may initially tricky to engage with as it may be unfamiliar to adults, that it stimulates a great deal of association and that meanings of image in juxtaposition are numerous. Critically, making an object allows highly personalised learning for the individual. Hopefully, the fun continued after our time together as each person was gifted a colouring in origami kit’.

CEL are creating more workshops and can connect this particularly with teams of colleagues for reflective practice, discussions of large topics such as curriculum re-design, group/ team working. If interested register with organisational development

For those considering nominations to VC Awards, our team was pleased to be recognised first by nomination, and then as an award winner. The next round of VC staff awards offers more opportunities for individuals and groups to be recognised and nominated.

In the first week of July Bournemouth University ran its second international midwifery education conference in the Executive Business Centre. This year’s conference was called ‘What works in midwifery education? A conference run by midwifery educators for midwifery educators.’ CMMPH (Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health) brought together nearly 100 delegates on Thursday and Friday (July 5-6). There were presentations and posters from midwifery educators based in in all four countries of the UK, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Australia, resulting in lively stimulating debates.

The conference organisers has teamed up with the leading scientific journal in the field Midwifery (published by Elsevier). To coincide with BU’s conferenceMidwifery published this month its special issue on Midwifery Education. This special issue was introduced at the conference by Dutch midwife Dr. Ans Luyben, one of the special issue’s editors.

The conference awarded two prizes for the best poster. One prize was for the best academic poster and one voted by the conference audience. The former prize was won by a poster from NHS Education for Scotland. The public’s poster prize was won by a poster from the University of Bradford jointly produced by film students and student midwives.

The main conference organisers Dr. Catherine Angell and Dr. Sue Way from CMMPH said afterwards that the success of the conference means that CMMPH will organise a third midwifery education conference run for and by educators in three years’ time.

Dr Holly Crossen-White has had a conference paper accepted for National Programmes Conference: Museums and Digital Memory Conference to be held at the British Museum in September. The paper will be presented with Dr Trudie Cole, Head of Access and Participation, The National Museum of the Royal Navy. Trudie and Holly have previously worked on several research projects related to the use of digital archives and this gives them opportunity to apply their findings within the context of collections held by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. Holly’s research interest in digital archives arose through her PhD which explored the hidden history of illicit drug taking during the early twentieth century. Holly has published on the ethical issues of undertaking research using digital archives and has been awarded Faculty Seedcorn Funding with her colleague Dr. Angela Turner-Wilson for some of this research work.

The International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids (ISSFAL) www.ISSFAL.org held its 13th International Congress in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA at the end of May. After a very informative Satellite Symposium (Arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids in infant development), the Congress started with a welcome reception in the Tropicana Hotel. This was not only well attended by the approximately 500 delegates from all over the world, but also Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra made an appearance.

The following 3 days were packed with excellent and informative sessions about General Nutrition, Maternal and Infant Nutrition, Inflammation and Allergy, Clinical Trials Methodology and Ketoneurotherapeutics. In between, well-known researchers in the field presented their research in plenary talks. Dr Michael Crawford obtained an omega-3 research award and Dr Maria Makrides was awarded with the Alexander Leaf Award. Her presentation entitled “Standing on the shoulders of giants: great women role models, mentors and advocates” was really inspiring.

I would like to thank ISSFAL for the opportunity to present my PhD research. My presentation was entitled “Optimising LCPUFA content of donor human milk: A review of current milk banking practices and recommendations for improvement”, presenting the results of our UK Milk Bank survey, which is now extended internationally. Furthermore, I had two posters displaying our work on preterm formula milk storage conditions and lipid degradation; and the effects of lipid degradation products on intestinal cells in vitro. These presentations gave me the possibility to position myself in the fatty acid research world and to make valuable contacts.

ISSFAL was especially taking care of us New Investigators, providing New Investigator Awards, organising a New Investigator social at the Mob Museum for networking with other researchers at a similar stage, as well as organising a meet the professor breakfast to talk to the experts in the field. One of the none scientific highlights was of course our trip to the Grand Canyon on the free day.

I would also like to thank my supervisors Dr Simon Dyall and Prof Minesh Khashu for their ongoing support as well as Gillian Weaver and Dr Caroline Childs for the fantastic collaborations. Furthermore, I would like to thank Bournemouth University and Santander for making this trip possible.

OER18 conference ‘Virtual Reality: the implications for open educational resources’ presentation by BU staff. A conference presentation by Liz Falconer and Denyse King explored the meaning of open educational resources (OER) in relation to virtual reality (VR) technologies used for education. They argued that VR has been overlooked in the OER debate to date, and that the growth of educational VR platforms will require consideration of the many of the issues that arise from the more traditional concerns of open resources.

Liz and Denyse discussed Virtual Avebury and Virtual Urinalysis as two case examples that illustrate the issues that might arise, sharing their experiences of creating these learning environments in collaboration with university colleagues, commercial developers, and other interested parties such as Health Education England and patient representatives. The audience enthusiastically received their presentation and there were a number of interesting questions asked. The OER18 conference was also a valuable networking experience for Liz and Denyse, who met in person with delegates who had travelled from many different countries including America, South Africa and Brazil.

Following on from this successful experience they are hoping to be invited to present at the Future Technologies Conference in November 2018 to present Denyse’s virtual reality learning environments (VRLE) doctorate project – the Collaborative Immersive Learning Virtual Reality Series (CILVRS).

A year on from BU hosting the prestigious British Conference of Undergraduate Research, the annual BCUR 2018 gathering this year was hosted by the University of Sheffield last week. On the heels of a successful SURE 2018 at BU in March, 7 undergraduate students from across all faculties were supported to showcase their research at BCUR 2018 among close to 600 delegates. Atanas Nikolaev, a SURE sponsored student and recent graduate of Sports Management did a presentation on his ethnographic study of Embodied Experiences of Women at Leisure Centres, “The most interesting aspect of the conference to me was the opportunity to engage with like-minded people across various scientific fields. It was a great way to get exposure for my research project and be challenged with ideas that could potentially lead to future developments. BCUR was great to learn about research that was of interest to me and to potentially build lasting relationships with young researchers from across the country”.

Bethan Stephenson, an FMC student studying English presented a piece of research entitled ‘The Changing Space of Warwick County Museum’ which challenges notions of memory and how historic accounts are valued. Bethan said “I really enjoyed the experience of attending the British Conference of Undergraduate Research (BCUR) at Sheffield University, and found it very illuminating. I got there not really knowing what the conference fully entailed, and so was very pleasantly surprised. As a final year student, I’ve been recently contemplating post-graduation options, and the introduction to BCUR was incredibly informative. They discussed the importance of research-based careers, and the opportunities this can lead to. I’ve always loved research, and have multiple fields that I’m passionate about, and so I really feel like this introductory talk helped confirm my desire to undertake a masters, and possibly a PhD, in the future”.

Other BU students taking part included Charlie Simmons, a business studies marketing student presenting on Digital Immersion and the Streaming of E-Sports. Tereza Paskova, a final year Tourism student presented on Emotional Intelligence as a tool in customer satisfaction in tourism/hospitality settings. Isobel Hunt, a Faculty of Science and Technology student studying Psychology presenting on Consumer Decision Making and Trust for Online Restaurant Reviews and Scott Wilkes who is studying Sport Development and Coaching Sciences and also presented his research on the effects of stammer has on social participation in sport amongst Young People.

The involvement of BU undergraduate research at the national BCUR event along with a presence at their annual precursor event, Posters in Parliament, has been possible with key support and involvement from CEL and key contributors across all faculties. It is an opportune channel for students to engage with the research process and make real world connections to the impact of their work. For future opportunities in these initiatives, contact Mary Beth Gouthro mgouthro@bournemouth.ac.uk.

Today on the second day of the 2018 BNAC (Britain-Nepal Academic Council) conference there was a very good representation of Bournemouth University (BU) research at Durham University. BU’s Professor Michael Wilmore presented his paper: Construction of ‘Community’ in Research on Nepalese Commons. In the morning FHSS’s PhD student Jib Acharya had an oral presentation on Impact of Healthy Snacks on Children’s Health: An Overview of a Pilot Study.

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen presented joint work between BU, Liverpool John Moors University (LJMU) and the University of Oxford on the topic Skills transfer, employability & entrepreneurship of returnee labour migrants in Nepal. Bournemouth University was involved in this project through Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Nirmal Aryal and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen.

The final talk of the day (and of the conference) was by Prof. Padam Simkhada from LJMU. Prof. Simkhada is also Visiting Professor at the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal & Perinatal Health at Bournemouth University. He was presenting Debate on Educational Reform in Nepal: Outcomes of the International Conference on Quality of Higher Education in Federal Nepal on behalf of LJMU, Bournemouth University and Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal. Earlier this year BU signed a Memorandum of Agreement with MMIHS in Kathmandu.

The second day of the conference was open by Professor Graeme Close & Mr Michael Naylor with a lecture on “nutritional strategies for competition and performance.”

Follow up with the oral presentations and free communications. I found particular interest in the research of Mr Chynkiamis on the effect of VitaBREATHE on exercise tolerance in COPD patients and in the feasibility study of Miss Thomas on the effect of 10 weeks postural stability exercise on balance in elderly care homes residents. I am glad that I had the chance to discuss with Miss Thomas part of the outcomes and the methods she used for my undergoing research on falls prevention.

Later in the afternoon, I had the opportunity to talk more about inspiratory muscle training (IMT) with Mr Hopkins and Mr Gibb who are looking at the effect of IMT on time trial performance in trained cyclists.

After, the workshop “psychological challenges for physical activity uptake” by Dr Melissa Fothergill intrigued me as I believe it is a crucial matter of discussion, especially if working with frail populations.

The final motivational lecture titled “creating your future” by Dr Steve Ingham closed the 2018 BASES student conference with tips and advice on how to progress in the sport science carriers.

Concluding, it was a great experience as not only I had the chance to improve my network and meet peers with a similar background as mine but most important because in these two days I had increased my awareness and motivations.

A special thanks go to my supervisors Professor Alison McConnell, Dr James Gavin and Professor Tom Wainwright who pointed me at this event.

The conference is now over, and by the time you read this post, I will be already on my way back to Bournemouth.

Every year the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) organise the student conference, as an opportunity to discuss and exchange views on contemporary issues in sport and exercise science (including clinical exercise, biomechanics, performance, physiology and psychology).

This year the venue is Northumbria University, and the programme includes international speakers from the applied and research worlds.

The conference started with the lecture “not all that can be counted counts – why we should listen to Einstein?” by Mrs Esme Matthew & Miss Laura Needham, who brought they experience as members of English Institute of Sport (EIS) and their work with the UK Olympic team.
It was particularly inspiring to see how the lab works moved into the field of applied science and the relationship that bound researchers and athletes.

Next, after the usual coffè break, it was the time of free communications and oral presentation, where I had the opportunity to attend to the following:
Mr Dray, and his work on the effect of high-intensity interval training on obese men.
Mr Parmar about the difference in maximal aerobic speed in filed-based tests compared to laboratory-based treadmill tests.
Miss McNulty on low-volume, high-intensity priming activity.
Miss White and his work on plyometric training team gym gymnasts.

Mr Addey about the effect of unilateral strength training on recreation runners.

Then, it was the time for poster exhibition, where I presented my research titled: “The effects of 8 weeks of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on the balance of healthy older people: a randomised, double-blind, placebo controlled trial”.
I was excited, and most important the comments and feedback collected satisfied my expectations.

In particularly I had the chance to discuss IMT with a couple of students from Portsmouth, that today are going to present their works on IMT in athletes.
I also met Mr Tahmosybayat, and his research on 6 weeks of exergaming compare to OTAGO exercise training in healthy older adults and we discussed the outcomes, methods and methodologies of our research.

After there was a range of workshops available from which I chose “a demonstration of how exergaming is used to improve postural control” by Dr Gill Barry at the sport central physiology lab.
Here members of the lab staff showed us their facilities in particular exergame, Kinect, and Biodex BioSway and how they measure balance in frail populations.

At the end of the conference, there was still time for the lectures on “contemporary recovery: translating research to application” by Dr Jonathan Leeder, Dr Jess Hill & Mr Luke Gupta. Who discussed how to optimising recovery following exercises, the efficacy of compression garments on recovery from strenuous exercises and sleep management in elite sports.

Then we moved to the home of Newcastle United FC, where before dinner we had a motivational/inspiring speech by Mr Nick Grantham specialist in athletic preparation, combat sports and strength training.

Concluding, it was a very productive day and I am looking toward tomorrow where there are going to be more lectures, oral presentations and posters oriented on frail populations and nutrition.

The panel, chaired by Professor Lee Miles (Professor of Crisis and Disaster Management) was awarded after a highly competitive submission process. The panel together combined a Professor, a Senior Research Fellow (Dr Henry Bang) and three BUDMC PhD candidates (Michael Clark, Grace Kingsbury and James Stride) to deliver papers on their respective research in disaster management. The panel was distinctive in that the panellists also had significant experience, not just in the academic study of disaster management, but also in working in the field and in the crisis management industry – thereby representing practical examples of co-creation and the thriving research environment at the Disaster Management Centre here in Bournemouth.

The panel called ‘Ruling in Unruly Times? Foreign Policy Dynamics of Disaster Management’ opened with a jointly co-authored paper by Professor Lee Miles, Dr Henry Bang and Michael Clark on understanding resistance factors and enhancing entrepreneurial resilience in disaster management in Ghana that represented unique research findings from the BUDMC’s acclaimed AFRIGATE project. This was followed by research papers delivered by BUDMC PhD candidates on ‘Synthesizing Foreign Policy Considerations and Health Systems Resilience’ in Africa’ (Michael Clark), ‘The International Dimensions of Maritime Disasters’ (James Stride) and a co-authored paper by PhD candidate, Grace Kingsbury and Professor Lee Miles, on ‘The Scandinavian Foreign Policy Collective: Managing Greater Imperatives of Resilience and Safety’ – that each demonstrated the depth of international-focused work undertaken by BUDMC researchers. The panel were subject to notable scrutiny by a discussant, and a vibrant debate; and the papers were warmly welcomed by an international audience of prominent academics from the field of international studies. The papers will form the basis of manuscripts to be submitted to key journals by summer 2018.

Georgina Polius is in her second year of BA Sociology and Anthropology in the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, and is one of the students who has decided to participate in this year’s upcoming Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE) conference.

Georgina was encouraged to apply by her lecturer, Dr Rosie Read, who informed the entire class to participate in the SURE conference. “Initially, the word abstract scared me a bit because I would have to condense my work into a few lines but after further discussion with my family, I decided to go for it.”

Her assignment research looks at the underlying problem of food poverty within modern British society which was carried out within a foodbank in Bournemouth, working among the volunteers. “Having grown up in a volunteering culture, it has become for me a way of life,” says Georgina. “More specifically, my interest in the foodbank area was sparked by one of my course units I studied last semester where we were sent into the Bournemouth foodbanks to research the personal reasons behind the seemingly household phenomenon of volunteering.”

“I do believe that SURE is a good way to showcase our work as we, as students, have been given the opportunity for various academics and other students to see our work and receive unbiased feedback, which will help us to improve for the future. It also gives us a place to highlight real world issues.”

“I hope to use this exposure from SURE to improve my self-confidence and assertiveness in public speaking which would be an asset to me as I continue with my university studies and eventually into the world of research,” she says. “Most students would perhaps only get to publish their work or experience this type of exposure if they continued to a Master’s programme.”

The Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence conference will taking place on 7 March 2018. Many undergraduate students from across the university will be presenting their research throughout the conference in a variety of different ways, from presentations to posters and art installations. Please register via the Eventbrite page if you would like to attend.

Scott Wilkes is a Sport Development and Coaching Sciences student (Faculty of Management) in his 4th final year at Bournemouth University. He is one of many undergraduate students who will be participating in this year’s Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence conference this Wednesday, 7 March 2018.

“SURE was first mentioned to me by my dissertation tutor and I thought to myself ‘What have I got to lose?’.” Scott’s dissertation research looks at the relationship between stammering and sports participation. “Having a stammer myself and a passion for sport, it seemed like the obvious choice to undertake this research,” he says.

“I spent my placement year at a preparatory school where I chose to deliver a school assembly about stammering, how to manage it and how to react to those who have one. It was very well received from pupils, teachers and parents which also inspired me to conduct further research into the area.”

“Now that I have gained control of my speech through years of work with the McGuire programme, I want to help children who are currently experiencing the same feelings that I felt at their age. I am keen to share my work with other academics and students at SURE, particularly because there appears to be a lack of knowledge and research about stammering in the sporting context, and I feel it is vital to improving the wellbeing of those who stammer.”

“SURE is my first opportunity to present my work in an academic environment. Plus, I thought it would be nice to achieve something like this before I leave university! The workshops before the event have helped with what needs to be included and how to set my work out for the audience to understand. Also, the McGuire Programme has taught me how to enjoy public speaking so I am looking forward to the event!”

The Showcasing Undergraduate Research Excellence conference will taking place on 7 March 2018. Many undergraduate students from across the university will be presenting their research throughout the conference in a variety of different ways, from presentations to posters and art installations. Please register via the Eventbrite page if you would like to attend.

This weekend Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Kathmandu, Nepal signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Bournemouth University (BU). The ceremonial signing took place on the final day (24th Feb.) of the International Conference on Quality Education in Federal Nepal. Prof. Stephen Tee, who also spoke at the conference, represented our university.

The UoA formalises a long-standing collaboration between the two institutions. MMIHS and BU academics have jointly applied for research grants, conducted collaborative research and published together. Several BU staff [1-3] and students [4] in the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences have published in the Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, an Open Access journal. Moreover, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen in the Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health has been a Visiting Professor at MMIHS for nearly a decade and has given several guest lectures over the years to staff and students at MMIHS.

Yesterday (Monday 26th February) we disseminated the preliminary findings of our study on ‘Health vulnerabilities of cross border migrants from Nepal.’ The study was funded by IOM (International Organisation for Migration) in Kathmandu. The main findings were outlined one of the researchers from Green Tara Nepal.

The study was conducted in Nepal by Nepali researchers Drs. Pratik Adhikary, Nirmal Aryal and Raja Ram Dhungana, with methodological support from Prof. Padam Simkhada (Liverpool John Moores University) and BU’s Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen. The mixed-methods study included a cross-sectional study of 752 Nepali migrant workers who had returned from working in India as well as focus groups and interviews with a sub-sample of returnees and interviews with two key informants. The research team also highlighted some key issues raised in two recent migration and health papers co-authored by some of the contributors to the dissemination event [1-2].

The project has strong link with Bournemouth University, Prof. Simkhada is Visiting Professor in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS), Dr. Pratik Adhikary is a BU Ph.D. graduate and Dr. Nirmal Aryal has just been appointed in FHSS as a Post-Doctoral Researcher in preparation for REF 2021.

Both the Saturday and the Sunday edition of The Kathmandu Post carried articles on the International Conference on Education in a Federal Nepal. The coverage of this two-day conference (which ran on Friday and yesterday) included Prof. Stephen Tee’s keynote speech and Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen reporting on research findings of an education study amongst health educators in Nepal, as well as FHSS’s Visiting Faculty, Prof. Padam Simkhada (based at Liverpool John Moores University). The conference organised by HISSAN and supported by 16 education partners including Bournemouth University, Liverpool John Moores University and The University of Utah (USA) was attended by some 400 delegates.

As the key note speaker of the second day, Prof. Tee emphasised the need for technology-enhanced teaching/ learning processes. He added that a globalised world requires educational institutions to “recognise students as consumers.” He highlighted a number of common (and not so common) approaches to technology-enhanced teaching in the UK. His key note speech was very well received by colleagues academics and educationalists in Nepal. On the first day of the conference Prof. Tee was welcomed by the Prime Minister of Nepal K.P. Oli.

The two-day International Conference on Quality Education in Federal Nepal has just started in Kathmandu. Prof. Stephen Tee, executive dean of FMC and FMSS is one of the invited guests giving a short opening address. He spoke after the organisers had shown Prof. John Vinney’s recorded supporting message from Bournemouth University. Steve was part of the plenary session with the theme ‘Quality in Higher Education’.

This international conference has already attracted national media attention as the pre-conference press conference was reported in The Kathmandu Post today (click here to read news story).

On behalf of the International Association on Public and Nonprofit Marketing (IAPNM), we are pleased to announce that Bournemouth University’ Department of Marketing will be hosting the 17th IAPNM Congress in September 2018.

The International Congress on Public and Non Profit Marketing (IAPNM) is an annual event organised by major universities and scientific institutes that offers a friendly atmosphere and professional work environment for the presentation and discussion of the latest scientific and practical advances in the areas of public and nonprofit marketing, as well as in any other issue related to corporate social responsibility, social marketing and management of nonprofit organisations.

IAPNM not only receives contributions from marketing and management, but also from academics and professionals from other related disciplines, who are concerned with or interested in these areas of knowledge.

The Congress, whose first meeting took place in 2002, provides a point of productive meeting to encourage collaborative projects and to foment international cooperation research.

We look forward to welcoming you in Bournemouth with a vibrant programme.

Prof. Stephen Tee, Professor of Nurse Education & National Teaching Fellow, has been invited to give a key note speech at an International Conference on CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF QUALITY EDUCATION IN NEPAL IN FEDERALISM ERA in Kathmandu, the capital in Nepal.

This International Conference is organised by the Higher Institutions & Secondary Schools’ Association Nepal (HISSAN) in collaboration with 13 international universities including Bournemouth University. Members of the Conference Advisor Committee includes BU professors Vanora Hundley and Edwin van Teijlingen. Prof. Tee will be speaking about ‘What can Nepal learn from latest UK technology-enhanced teaching?’ He is in great position to speak about learning technology due to his dual role at BU as Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences as well as Interim Executive Dean of the Faculty of Management, moreover with his role as Assistant Editor of Nurse Education Today.